By Nikki Schwab and Bob Fredericks
April 10, 2019 | 11:02pm

Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are caught trying to enter the US every year from more than 100 countries — from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, according to Homeland Security data.

The overwhelming majority comes from Mexico and passes through the southern US border, though that number has declined sharply between fiscal years 2008 and 2018.

But while Mexican detentions are down, apprehensions of immigrants from Honduras and Guatemala — many of them families seeking asylum in the US — have soared.

And though small in number, illegal immigrants have been caught from a number of eyebrow-raising countries, including North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

In 2018, 152,257 Mexican citizens were nabbed at the southern border, up from 127,938 in 2017 but fewer than the 653,035 in 2008. The number from Guatemala jumped from 66,871 to 115,722 in the same period.

And apprehensions of Honduran citizens spiked from 47,260 to 76,513.

The numbers aren’t shocking, Manhattan immigration attorney Yaniv Lavy told The Post. “It’s not surprising, people love this country and they want to come here, Lavy said. “Unfortunately if they can’t come here legally, they’ll do it illegally.”

https://nypost.com/2019/04/10/illega...year-dhs-data/